Fever Dream
by Houkanno Yuuhou
Summary: Part three is out! I'm trying as quick as I can to revise this and get it uploaded, so bare with me! Arigatou!
1. Fever Dream

Argh! Don't you hate it when you type something, and your disk doesn't work, and then you lose your story?? That's what happened to me! I had this story prepared to upload, and my computer ate it! *sweatdrops at the lame excuse* Well, gomennasai minna, I have to write it from memory. Basically, my-spouse-who-shall-remain-nameless(!) said a rather rude remark about my laugh, and for some reason, this story popped in my head! Strange, right? I blame it all...err, give all credit to Milk. That story, (SHAMELESS PLUG!) "Serena's Strength", woke up many new ideas. Anyway, this story refused to leave my mind, and it still does, and so this is just a little weird ficcie that takes place somewhere in the SM-universe! Hope you enjoy it, and I will have chapter two of "Timid is the Rabbit" up soon! Ja ne! Sayonara!  
  
Disclaimer: Sheesh, do I look like Naoko-sensei to you?! ….um, now stop staring at me like that! Nice reader! Nice READER!!  
  
"Fever Dream"  
By Ruth Richter-Woytsek   
(alias Sailor SteelKat!)  
  
"Um...this won't hurt. Much."  
Usagi winced as the shot was prepared, her slender legs quivering as they dangled from the gurney. When she looked to the floor, they began to swing rhythmically to some music that only they knew.  
Ami was trying to comfort her, but couldn't do much to soothe Usagi's fears because her mother needed her help. She had offered a soft reassuring, "truthful" statement, but Usagi continued to protest the needle with wild abandon. Ami had to use every ounce of strength just to hold her down.  
Usagi silently cursed herself. Why, today of all days, did she have to go out to the garden? Why did Mama-san have to send her out there today to get some stupid tool? Just how long had that damn shed been broken like that anyway?? She had tried to be extra careful because of all the loose boards scattered around on the yard-perhaps TOO careful because she still managed to "nail" one, didn't she?   
But she had no enthusiasm left with which to laugh at her witty remark.  
Ami's mother came closer, and Usagi grimaced at the thought at what was coming. Mama-san had brought her to the Emergency Room only because the both of them didn't know the last time Usagi had received a tetanus shot, and everyone had decided it was wise to get another.  
Everyone except Usagi, that is.  
Again, she tried one last time in vain to protest. "It was just a stupid nail!"  
"A stupid, 'rusty' nail," Ami's mother corrected. "Now please hold still so I may administer this shot."  
"Hai," Usagi mumbled and sighed. Ami put a small hand on her shoulder, giving it a little, gentle squeeze. She silently thanked the gods that Ami had chosen today to help her mother at the hospital. Her own mother remained in the waiting room, only because Usagi had assured her that she would be fine. Maybe Mama-san had seen through that façade. Maybe she knew that Usagi didn't want her to see what a crybaby her daughter was when it came to needles. Oh, well, she just couldn't help it. Did Ami's mother have to use such a big needle??  
Maybe Mama-san was afraid of needles herself.  
Mama-san had been opening herself up more and more lately, letting Usagi catch a glimpse of the "real" Tsukino Ikuko. Her faults, her fears, her mortality. Did all adults go through such sad attempts to conceal themselves from their children? And what price did those children pay? Why must all children look at their parents the same way they would look upon Kami-sama?   
Aiiiee, a puzzle to solve another time! It was nice to see Mama-san trying to become more of a friend, especially now when Papa-san was becoming more and more protective of his little girl.  
She tensed when she felt the needle at her flesh and hissed when it finally broke skin. Then suddenly, a feeling like liquid fire coarsed through the spot in which the needle was, and she screamed in agony. "Aaaiieeeeee! What was that?!"  
"A side effect of the vaccine, I'm afraid. It only burns for a few seconds," Ami's mother said, and then withdrew the needle.  
Usagi's hand flew to the newly bruised spot. Rubbing only continued to make it worse. "It feels like someone pinched me!"  
"That'll go away, too," Ami explained, while her mother left the room. "Now, you know you might get ill.  
  
  
That's another side effect. It's something akin to mild influenza; fever, nausea, headache...you know. You'll be fine in a few days, if you get it at all." Ami paused and looked thoughtful. A sly grin spread across her face. "You should take this opportunity to get some rest," she said, rather sarcastically, and then winked. They both knew that was impossible. Usagi had too many responsibilities as Sailor Moon.. Rest was not in the vocabulary of the Senshi.  
They both giggled at their shared joke as they walked into the waiting room.  
  
"Shimatta!"  
Usagi cursed wildly as they both dashed to the temple. The trip to the hospital had made her late, and Ami as well, since Ami had stuck around longer just to help her. They ran up the stairs, Usagi tripping part of the way up. "Gaahhh, this is the worst day ever! Any more of this, and I'll be in traction!"  
When Ami got to the top, she almost dropped to her knees because she was doubled-up with laughter. "Poor...Usagi-chan!" she panted, still giggling.   
They both began the dull task of removing their shoes. Usagi hopped all over the patio while she tried to remove her Mary Janes, causing Ami to burst into another fit of laughter. Usagi was still cursing her luck when Rei stepped out from behind the paper door. "Oh!" she cried and then began the usual apology. "Gomennasai, Rei-chan! I didn't mean to make us late! It wasn't Ami's fault, so don't blame her."  
Rei wasn't even listening, instead opting to ask Ami what had happened. "Usagi-baka I understand being late, but you, Ami-chan?"  
"Nani?! I can be late, but Ami can't?" Usagi shouted, but neither paid attention. She then threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "Oh, forget it!"  
Ami continued explaining to Rei about Usagi's little mishap. "And I was busy helping my mother, so I couldn't get to a phone to call you."  
Rei put a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Give me a break! Usagi, you are nothing but a big clumsy clod, and that proves it! This is not how a future queen should act." She grabbed Ami's arm and proceeded to drag her inside. "Come on, Ami, she still has one shoe to get off."  
Usagi watched them go inside and then began to whine. "Never a kind word for the 'baka'!" She pouted as she sat down to remove the right shoe. "What did I ever do to deserve this?! This isn't how you treat your future queen!" Looking to see if Rei was watching, she sighed and then stuck her tongue out. "What do I do to stop the insults?"  
"Rei's just looking out for your best interests," a husky baritone voice answered.  
She threw the shoe to the side and stood up. "Oh, Mamo-chan, it was just a rhetorical question," she replied as she walked with him into the temple.  
"Do you even know what 'rhetorical' means, baka?" Rei's voice called from inside her room.  
Usagi turned three shades of red and gritted her teeth. "For crying out loud! That does it!" She tried to run after Rei to club her one in the mouth, but Mamoru's hand firmly held her still. "Let go! That little fire witch deserves-"  
"No," Makato interrupted, shaking her head, and Usagi relaxed. "Rei's just having a….a really bad day."  
"Gomen? A bad day?" Usagi sat next to Mamoru and placed her head against his chest. She suddenly felt dizzy, but tried to ignore it to find out what was bugging Rei. "What kind of 'bad day'?"  
Minako, who had been quiet so far, began to giggle hysterically. "She's got PMS," she whispered.  
It was so soft and unintelligible that Usagi asked her to repeat herself, and was startled when Rei came up from behind her and shouted, "She said that I have PMS!" She then looked down and blushed. "Well, it's true. I've been quite a bitch so far, Usagi-chan." She reached out to Usagi, who gladly stood up and hugged her ailing friend.  
"It's all right, Rei-chan. Just a bad day, huh?" she replied kindly, smiling at Rei. "I wouldn't be your friend if I didn't accept you for every little 'quirk', now would I?"   
Rei laughed and then smiled thoughtfully. "I suppose not."  
Usagi grinned and returned to her spot next to Mamoru. Why did her head throb so much? Why was the room getting smaller? "Minna, I don't feel so good." Her muscles were so achy and tense! She let out a painful moan as she laid her head in Mamoru's lap, curling into a fetal position.  
He looked at her in concern. "You 'are' very flushed, Usako."  
Perplexed, Ami ran to Usagi's side and felt her forehead. "Why, you are feverish!"  
Mamoru kissed her forehead. He gasped. "You are very hot!"   
A small titter escaped her sore throat. "Nice of you to notice, Mamo-chan," she whispered seductively, even if it sounded hoarse and peculiar. She moaned again as she shifted her position. "Ugh. I feel gross."   
Ami touched her, making her exhaled through clenched teeth. "You need to rest."  
Rest, rest would be nice.   
Rei took her by the wrist. "Come on, odango atama. You can sleep in my bed."   
"Hai," she managed weakly as she was dragged to Rei's room. Once there, she propped herself up against the bureau as Rei pulled back the covers. "Arigatou, Rei-chan."  
"Don't mention it," Rei replied. "Make yourself comfortable while I get you some of my old pajamas." She made herself busy, opening drawers, trying to find "those blasted pajamas".  
Usagi fell on the soft, downy mattress, relieved. "Nani? Pajamas?"  
Rei paused to look at her, as if trying to decide if that was a joke or if the fever was talking. Whatever she decided, she shook her head in disbelief. "You don't expect to sleep in your clothes, do you? They'll wrinkle!"  
It was Usagi's turn to be baffled. Was she serious? "You sound like an old mother hen, Rei," she mused.  
Rei ignored her, still busying herself with finding the pajamas. Suddenly, she yanked something out of the back of the bottom drawer and gave it to Usagi. It was an old, ratty nightgown. Usagi held it out for inspection and could barely resist laughing at Rei. Perhaps at one time, the gown had meant to be sunshine-yellow, but after several years and many washings, it was the color of urine. It "was" soft though. "It...it's so short…and-"  
"And?!" Rei retorted, cutting her off. If her face got even more red, she could probably blow steam from her ears!  
"And...well...um, ugly," Usagi finished meekly.  
Rei cried out in disgust. "I give up!" She threw her arms to the sky, shouting, "Kami-sama, give me the strength to forgive my friend for being such a baka while she's sick!" She then spun around to face Usagi, glaring and shaking a finger at her. "You are just sleeping in it!! You are not going out in it, you are not wearing it out of this room, and, Kami-sama, forgive me for such thoughts," she said, casting her eyes downward and then back at Usagi, "you are not entertaining Mamoru in bed with it!!!"  
They both heard laughter from the other room, and a confused-and probably slightly embarrassed-Mamoru yelled, "Nani?!"  
Usagi sighed and took her shirt off. She flung it aside, but before it could reach its destination, Rei caught it and began to fold it. Usagi laughed. "Oh, 'Mama-san', I could've done that when I was finished."  
Rei waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep." She smiled. "Now we can't have our princess get desperately ill on us, can we?"  
Usagi pulled the gown over her head and paused to stretch and yawn. "No, I guess not."  
Rei smiled again and left the room. Usagi continued to take the rest of her clothes off and carefully folded them as Rei had done. The gown was short, but not as short as she originally thought.  
But the material, no matter how soft, still rubbed her skin the wrong way, and her muscles ached in protest. She laid in the same fetal position as earlier, deciding it was the only comfortable one. As she drifted off into sleep, she wondered where she would be right now, if she had never met Mamo-chan or the other Senshi. She could hear their idle chatter and soft laughter even now, and it was comforting. It was nice knowing that they talked softly just for her because of her need to rest. Where would she be without her friends?  
Whatever would she do without them?  
  
____________________________________________________________________________________________  
Next: The Fever Dream! Just how real can a dream be??  
  
Gomen, minna! I just had to do a cliffhanger! *ducks tomatoes* Really! I just want to see if anyone even likes this little ditty I wrote. I promise that the dream is good, and it WILL be here tomorrow because it is already written.   
  
An excerpt from the next chapter:  
  
His cold, insincere laughter made her look up at him in bewilderment. The shock nearly caused her to knock her float over, and she pursed her lips. That laugh, it penetrated her soul, grabbing her insides and twisting-almost crushing her heart. How could her Mamo-chan be so cruel?! He was not the same person!  
"Nani?!" she cried in anguish, looking askance. She couldn't force herself to meet his gaze just now.  
An amused grin formed on his handsome face, contorting its features into something more...evil. "Are you deaf?" He laughed wickedly. "Or are you just mildly retarded? I 'said' have you ever heard yourself laugh?" he said, mocking her.  
That tore it. This wasn't her Mamo-chan. "Nani?" she repeated again, barely audible.   
She couldn't focus, couldn't "think" even! No other words would come out, so she stood there in awe, in shock, chanting as she shielded herself with her arms, trying to make him vanish, make her "friends" vanish, make "everyone" vanish. She might as well be dead to them. Then a thought crossed her mind for a brief second. What if she had never "been" born? Was everything a lie? A dream? "No, no, no, no!"  
  
Till tomorrow, minna!  
  



	2. Part Two: Interlude To the Dream

Konnichiha, minna! Here's more to this little side-story. Sorry for all the delays, but as you know, this site has been a real stubborn pain the last week or so. It's given me time to write a REAL epic-the story of my own new senshi, Sailor Alpha-Omega, the Senshi of the Beginning and the End. It's a story that has been in my head for at least two years. I promise it will be good, and my Japanese is getting better all the time with practice (and a handy dictionary!). And I must say, I am a little "miffed" that my idea was borrowed(?) here recently. Oh well, be it a honest mistake or...whatever, nevermind. I'm all for a little competition! ^_^ Ja ne!   
  
Fever Dream: Interlude to the Dream   
By Houkanno Yuuhou (my name in Japanese!), Yuu-chan for short ~_^   
(formerly known as Sailor SteelKat!)   
  
  
"Aaaahhhh."   
In bed with eyes closed firmly against the protruding sunlight, Usagi stretched and yawned Heaven-blue peeked from behind a half-lidded eye. Stretching yet again, she sat up.   
How long had she slept? Had Rei let her spend the night? Or had it only been a couple of hours? It seemed like she had spent Eternity in bed, but the sun was still shining, high in the sky.   
High in the sky?   
What in the world?!   
Head darting around the room, her brain, still heavy with sleep, slowly began to focus, and she realized she was in her room, though she was somewhat surprised.   
Well...that was an "understatement".   
Her door opened slowly, creaking from ages without a good oiling and constant slamming. Her mother's sweet, smiling face peered through the opening. "I'm glad to see you up, Usagi!"   
"Nani?" Usagi shook the last bit of sleep from her head and beamed at her mother. "Oh, Mama-san, konnichiha!" She stifled a yawn with her hand and glanced at the alarm clock. Almost eleven o'clock. She scratched her head, trying to find words to form a sentence. "Um...did the girls bring me home last night?" To herself, she mumbled, "Why don't I remember?"   
Looking a bit confused, Ikuko opened the door all the way and walked into the room. An eyebrow raised in concern, she asked, "Girls? What girls? Are you still feverish?" She continued to the bed and felt Usagi's forehead. "Hm...ie, are you talking about Naru-chan?"   
Usagi pulled Ikuko's hand away. "What girls?? Mama-san, do I need to feel 'your' forehead?" she laughed. "You know; Ami, Rei, Makato, Minako-'those' girls??"   
Puzzled, Ikuko started to shake her head, but an idea slowly dawned on her, and she nodded to herself, as if she was suddenly confident what the matter was. "Oh, Usa, what a dream you must have had to believe that these girls are real! What an imagination!" she praised. "You should write this down!"   
Nani?! What was she talking about??   
"Mama-san! My friends are not make-believe! You just saw Ami-chan yesterday! Remember, at the hospital with her mother? When I got the shot?"   
Ikuko nodded. "Hai, that nice girl with her mother. You know her?"   
"Onegai, Mama-san! What is wrong with you?? I've know her for a long time now!" Usagi cried hysterically. "We went to Hino Shrine after the shot, remember??"   
Ikuko shook her head nervously. "We came here after the shot, Usagi."   
How could that be?? Had Mama-san bumped her head lately? Maybe another youma…she needed to talk to Rei about this.   
Ikuko closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them, she focused on the floor, unable to look at Usagi. "Maybe I need to speak with the doctor about this. She never mentioned...this...this loss of reality. Maybe you're still fuzzy from the shot." She sighed again, slowly nodding. "Hai, it's the shot. That sounds reasonable."   
Suddenly, Usagi's head hurt like hell. What was Mama-san babbling about? Doctors, craziness, fever...huh? Oh, forget it. Mama-san was the "crazy" one! "Mama-san!" she snapped.   
"Nani!" came the harsh reply.   
Hm. Maybe pissing off Mama-san was not "the" best idea in the world, ne? "Mama-san, forgive me," she pleaded, her body trembling with fear-the fear that one feels when one's world has been turned upside-down, no longer sane. "Onegai, I don't understand what has happened." Did that tiny voice belong to her? She slumped forward, hands cradling her head. Her soul felt weak and disgusted, willing her to cry, to scream, to do "something" to release the tension filling every fiber of her being.   
But no voice would come. No tears would come.   
"It can't be a dream, Mama-san. It just can't!" Her voice sounded so hoarse. "Oh, it all seemed too real to be just a dream."   
Ikuko sat next to Usagi and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Oh, Usagi, sometimes things seem so real to us because, perhaps, we really want them to be."   
Usagi shook her head, unwilling to believe her. "But I dreamed several years worth of dreams then, Mama-san!" she whined.   
Ikuko chuckled, amused at what she believed was just Usagi's hyperactive imagination. "Well, dear, you 'were' asleep for a long while." She took Usagi's hand in hers and pulled her daughter close. "What was this dream like?"   
So Usagi began to tell her mother about the past two years worth of…dreams. She told everything; becoming Sailor Moon, meeting Luna, the Senshi, Mamo-chan, the Moon Kingdom, the Outers, the Starlights, even the blasted future with Chibi-Usa, and when she was finished, she buried her head in Ikuko's chest and let the tears that had been yearning for release flow freely.   
Two years worth.   
  
Usagi walked the streets, gazing through shop windows, not really heading anywhere in particular; just letting her emotions lead her. They led her the Arcade and Motoki.   
Motoki was there, like always, sweeping the sidewalk. When he noticed her approaching, he waved and called out a very happy, "Konnichiha, Usagi-chan!" She didn't reply-didn't even look up-which caused him to worry, and he propped his broom against the shop door. "Something wrong?"   
"Is Mamo-er...the baka here, Motoki-kun?" she muttered, still focused on the ground.   
"Ie, not yet, but there 'is' a new Sailor V game," he said enthusiastically, clearly trying to cheer her up.   
It didn't work. "Don't care," she mumbled, but she did finally look him in the eye. Her body felt as if it was made from lead because she had walked for so long, and her stomach growled angrily. "Can I get something to eat, Motoki-kun? I suppose I haven't eaten in a long time."   
"Sure." He smiled and opened the door for her.   
She took a seat at the bar and ordered a banana split which he brought her promptly. She took her shoes off and placed them on the stool next to her. "Feet hurt," she explained.   
"What have you been doing?" he asked as he wiped the counter.   
"Walking everywhere. Going neither here nor there." He paused to look at her, letting her strange unUsagi-like comment sink in. She blushed and looked away, scanning the Arcade which was quite dead at the moment. "Where is everyone? There's usually quite a pack here after school."   
He shrugged. "Who knows? It's Tuesday. Maybe they all have cram school." He watched her gulp down the last bit of syrup from the glass dish and grinned when she wiped a trickle of chocolate off her chin and onto her sleeve.   
Usagi was in her own private world at the moment, remembering her conversation with Mama-san. Apparently, Mama-san knew of "Mamoru-baka", and Luna was their pet, but there was no long lost love with Mamo-chan, and Luna was just an ordinary black cat with no crescent moon birthmark.   
She sighed. Everything was pointless now. What use was life without her lover and her friends? What could thrill her now, after she had seen many things as Sailor Moon? She even missed the brat, Chibi-Usa!   
Motoki let out a small moan and tapped her on the shoulder, causing her to jerk her head up rather sharply. "Ow! What was that for, Motoki-baka??" she yelled, rubbing her sore neck.   
"Don't look now," he whispered, "but 'someone's' coming in the door."   
She turned just in time to see Mamo-chan, and suddenly, everything seemed all right in the world again. She beamed at him, and he gave her a curious look.   
But, alas, nothing was all right because he wasn't her Mamo-chan, and perhaps, he had never been.   
That wiped the smile from her face, and she returned her gaze to the counter in front of her.   
A hand touched her shoulder, and that smooth, sexy baritone whispered into her ear. "What in the world could make you so happy that you grin like a bakamono?"  
For a minute, she forgot herself, and she smiled as she replied, "You."   
Opps.   
She groaned and hid her blushing face from him with her hands. "Um...I mean...that is…." The words died on her tongue, and she slowly, painfully, forced herself to look into his eyes, searching for some sort of sign that he was still hers. All she saw was confusion and maybe some happy curiosity at the reply.   
He smirked. "Really, Odango Atama?"   
She bit her lower lip in frustration. Part of her wanted to pull him close and kiss the smirk off his face. The other part wanted to pull him close and just slap him silly. Sighing sadly, she shook her head and got up from the stool. "Just leave me alone, Mamoru-san. Just today, onegai," she pleaded. "I'm not at all myself today." With that said, she walked toward the Sailor V game, mentally yelling at herself for wanting to cry.   
"Odango-"   
"You heard her," Motoki interrupted. "Drop it." In a lower voice, but not so low that she couldn't make out the words, he said, "She doesn't look well, my friend. She says some things that even I don't understand."   
"Well, I can't even understand half of what she says, Motoki, but really, she's 'not herself'?" he whispered. "What's that about?"   
"Well, look at her. Have you ever seen 'that' girl so confused?"   
"Motoki-"   
"Well?" Motoki snapped. "Have you ever seen her so depressed then?"   
She glanced over her shoulder at them, waiting for Mamo-chan's reply.   
Shimatta! Not Mamo-chan! Mamoru!   
"I have to stop it," she told herself firmly.   
"Stop what, Usagi-chan?" Motoki shouted.   
"Nothing," she sighed, and went back to the game.   
"See?" Motoki said to Mamoru.   
Their conversation continued even though she eventually tuned them out. No matter how much her heart wanted to hear 'his' voice, her brain told her it would be wiser to let it go for now because it was giving her nothing but grief and emotional overload-which she "clearly" did not need at the moment.   
She sighed again. Her brain was starting to make sense, and she wasn't even able to let the girls know about it.   
Her mind couldn't stay focused on Sailor V, and after many doomed sessions, she gave up and returned to the counter to tell Motoki she was leaving, even though her mind screamed at her because it was really another half-assed attempt to see Mamo-chan.   
Why did her mind have to sound exactly like Luna??   
"Motoki-kun," she said as he poured cola over ice cream, "I have to go now. My mother is expecting me for dinner. For the ice cream, domuoarigatou. Sayonara." She looked over to the booth where Mamoru was sipping his drink and reading a magazine. "Sayonara, Mamoru-san."   
He looked up from his magazine and nodded. "Sayonara, Odango."   
"I wish you could really call me that, Mamo-chan," she whispered to herself as she stepped out the door.   
She never saw the puzzled look Mamoru gave her in response.   
  
Cursing herself for lying to them, she strolled through the park, looking for a bench that wasn't occupied by couples in love. She just had to get out of there, she reasoned. The emotions were just too much. She really did feel crazy.   
She walked with her head down, unwilling to look at the smiling couples who couldn't go at least two seconds with giving each other a peck on the cheek. After she passed them all, she looked up again, and found herself face-to-face with familiar short blue hair. "Ami-chan!"   
The girl peered up from her text book and glared harshly at Usagi. "Gomennasai?"   
"Oh!" Usagi could have slapped herself; she was so stupid! Not "her" Ami-chan. "Ojamashimasu, Mizuno-san!" Ami returned to her Chemistry book, and Usagi shyly looked at the ground. "We are in the same class. I thought you might…." Might remember me, she had meant to say, but couldn't bring herself to do it.   
"Might what?" Ami snapped. "Can't you see that I'm busy?" She roughly closed the book and tossed it aside. "I am sick of all people who think that they can get a free tutoring session out of me if they become 'friendly'." She wrinkled her nose at the word, "friendly". "Just go away."   
A lonely tear escaped Usagi's eye, traveling quickly down her cheek and then hitting the pavement. Ami-chan was the sweet one, the loyal friend whom she could always trust to defend her!   
Not Ami-chan, baka. Not our Ami-chan.   
Suddenly, shy little Ami wasn't so shy and sweet anymore. Usagi felt more tears on their way. "Gomen, I'll be on my way." She turned away and sighed. "You just looked like you could use a break, that's all. I just wanted to be friends!" The last sentence came out in a tiny, anguished cry. She needed Ami to be her friend, she really did. She swore to Kami-sama that she would never bug Ami about school work again if the girl would just be her friend.   
She ran, just trying to get as far away as possible from that harsh version of Ami. Her feet took her to the park's little fountain where she finally stopped and plopped down on a bench. "What am I going to do?!" she screamed at the wind. "This 'has' to be a dream! It has to! Why would I dream about being a Senshi? Why would I dream about these girls?? Why would I dream about Mamo-chan???" She tugged at her ponytails. "I am real! I am real! Tell me why!"   
The only answer came from a sparrow singing in a cherry blossom tree.   
  
Later in her bedroom, Usagi sighed and cuddled Luna closer. "I wish you could talk, Luna. I wish you could tell me what's going on."   
"Meow," came the reply.   
She laughed, at the cat and herself. "That's not a good enough answer, Luna. What am I doing?" she scolded herself. "I'm talking to a silly old cat!"   
Luna stretched and yawned, but she didn't talk back. She only had a questioning look in her eye for her owner.   
"Hai, Luna," Usagi answered, "I am crazy." She took down her odangos and sighed. "Maybe Mama-san is right. Maybe I did dream all of that. But why is everyone acting so strange? It's like I'm talking to opposites!" Luna gazed at Usagi intently, and for a moment, she thought Luna could understand her and began talking like old times again. "I don't get it, Luna. This is all too confusing. Why does everyone seem so different?" An idea popped in her head, suddenly, and she brightened, throwing her arms in the air and scaring Luna away. "What if this is the dream? What if I am sleeping right now? All I have to do is wake up then, right?" She could have sworn Luna frowned just then. "All right, Luna," she said dejectedly, "you win. I'm speaking nonsense."   
She turned off the light and stared at the moon, its bluish beams making everything appear ghostly and fake. "Maybe so," she sighed, "but I need to speak to Rei-chan." She closed her eyes.   
She never noticed that the little black cat shook her head before she stretched and also went to sleep.   
  
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There's Part Two, minna! Part Three is on its way! I hope you liked this! Ja ne! -Yuu-chan ^.^


	3. Part Three: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Konnichiha, again, minna! Grr...I could just kill my Publisher program! I had to go back and check it again just to see if any other parts looked so choppy. - -;; Plus, I could kick myself in the ass for spelling Makoto's name wrong! Makoto, Yuuhou-baka! I don't even know why I didn't spell it right the first time. Sheesh.   
Well, minna, I'm trying to get this uploaded, and hopefully, wrap up "Timid" as well...because *trumpets blaring* ta da! Milk and I are preparing our first co-write Sailor Moon season/series. It will be set sometime after her "Serena's Strength" story and right before the dawn of Crystal Tokyo. It's the epic I was talking about involving: the Inners (which includes the senshi you love and know, with Sabastian Moon and Tuxedo Kamen), the Outers (which includes all you know and Sailor Sun, who hai, folks, is an Outer), our new senshi, Sailor Alpha-Omega, plus senshi from all across the Universe! Senshi, senshi, and more senshi! Just wanted to clue you in! ^^   
*darts around, looking for an angry Milk, who might slap her for giving some clues...gomen! - -;; I can't help it; I'm so excited!*   
  
Disclaimer: I am confident that you know that Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko-sensei (the one TRUE owner), and that even though she loves reading Sailor Moon fanfiction, she would probably have my head on a platter if I said I owned my favorite manga characters and was making money from this. Which I'm not. So there. Nana nana boo boo. But I do own the story, so evil story-snatchers, BEWARE!   
Umm...the book "Nightmares and Dreamscapes" belongs to Stephen King, but I like the title, and I hope he doesn't hurt me too badly.   
  
Fever Dream, Part Three: Nightmares and Dreamscapes   
By Houkanno Yuuhou   
  
Falling. In her dreams she is falling into darkness. The laughter of her friends covers her like a thick blanket, and she just can't toss it aside, no matter how hard she tries.   
Are they laughing at something amusing? Or are they laughing at her?   
She can hear the concern in their voices as they hear her tossing and turning in her dream. Someone reaches into the dark and smoothes her hair. A voice--Mamo-chan's--tells her that everything is all right, to stop crying. Another voice that sounds like it belongs to Rei says that Usagi-baka doesn't look so well, ie, not at all.   
Why can't she see them? She can hear them through the dream, their voices surrounding her in the dark. Their love for her fills her completely and in places in her that she never knew existed. She wants to wake up, oh, so badly, but it's all too confusing. Which is the dream? Which one?   
Once more, she hears Rei's voice, and she never realized how beautiful it was until just now, until she listened without looking at her. She sounds sweet and loving, her voice soft like silk as she whispers that everything is fine, and just wake up, Usagi-chan, wake up.   
But where in the world will she wake up this time?   
  
Shimatta.   
She finally woke up when the sunlight reached her eyes; the brightness stinging until finally she gave up, turned on her side, glanced at the alarm clock and screamed, "Ie! It's 7:45!"   
She jumped out of bed and raced to the bathroom. Only when she looked in the mirror did she wonder where she woke up. Of course she was in her house, but was she Sailor Moon here?   
A curious meow came from behind her, startling her, and then she felt a fur body wrapping itself around her ankles, waiting for affection. "Konnichiha, Luna." She bent to pet Luna's friendly, furry face, and was rewarded with a surprise instead; Luna hissed and scratched her. "Luna!"   
The small black cat hurried out of the bathroom, but stopped around the corner and sat down, eyes fixated on Usagi as she gathered her hair, planning to make her usual buns. "Oh, forget it," she told her mirror-twin. If she was still stuck in this crazy place where everyone acted so strange, then why not join them? So she left her hair down.   
Luna stared at her. "What, Luna, you crazy cat? Going to scratch me again?" Luna shook her head and waltzed away. "Strange cat."   
She put on her uniform and slowly descended downstairs. Everything around her still seemed fake, and briefly, she remembered the awful dream from the night before. She could still hear Rei's sweet voice calling for her to wake up, and Mamo-chan's hastened chant that everything was fine, and that he loved her.   
But she also remembered the darkness that engulfed her, the never-ending pit that she fell through. She remembered the evil laughter and shivered.   
Her mother noticed and paused from setting the table. "Are you all right, Usa? You are trembling."   
Usagi nodded. There was no sense in scaring her mother. Besides, one more crazy comment, and it might be "off to the loony bin for Usagi" because her father was sitting at the table, too, even though his eyes were fixated on his newspaper. "I'm fine, Mama-san. Just a nightmare."   
Ikuko's eyes returned to the plates left in her hands. "Did you dream about those girls again, Usagi?"   
Great. Nevermind about worrying her mother; she already "was" worried! "Nani? What do you mean, Mama-san?"   
Ikuko placed the last dish in front of Kenji. After she wiped her hands on her apron, she looked up, her eyes full of fear and concern. "You called out their names. You called for 'Rei-chan' mostly, and you also screamed for 'Mamo-chan'."   
Kenji looked up from his paper. "Nani?! Mamo-chan?!" Usagi could see the veins on his neck pulsating, and she cast her eyes at the floor. "You are too young to date, and that is final!"   
Ikuko laughed at Kenji who glared at her in return. "He's a dream boyfriend, daarin."   
Kenji breathed a sigh of relief. "Hai, good then." Then glancing at Usagi over his glasses, he muttered, "But I'd prefer you don't even dream about boyfriends yet."   
"Good grief." Ikuko sighed and returned to the stove.   
Rather than saying something that might upset him more, Usagi just shook her head in frustration. Same old Papa-san. He would never change.   
She grabbed her backpack, determined to get out of there at all costs so she could find Rei. "Mama-san, gomen, I don't have time for breakfast. I'm late for school."   
Before she could get out the door, Ikuko called frantically, "But it's Saturday!"  
Oh, shimatta! Now what would she do? "Oh, Mama-san," she laughed, no matter how phony it sounded, "I forgot. Can I go to the mall instead then? I really need to go somewhere to...to clear my mind," she stuttered. Though lying to Mama-san was something akin to evil, she really needed to see Rei.   
Ikuko smiled and nodded. "I understand. Just be back before supper, ne?"   
Usagi nodded. "Hai. Arigatou, Mama-san, Papa-san." Ikuko turned to finish breakfast, and Kenji nodded his approval. "Sayonara!" she sang out as screen door slammed shut, announcing her departure.   
The sun shone brightly in the sky as if it didn't know that something was amiss in the universe. Birds warbled their carefree songs, and crickets chirped without consideration. Everywhere she looked, not one look of worry could be found. Except on herself. Such a nice summer day, really. A day for children to play, a day for ice cream sodas shared by lovers….   
She sighed and wiped at the tears falling from her tired eyes. It was high-time to find Rei. It was high-time to wake up.   
  
She found the raven-haired beauty sweeping the stairs, as usual. Rei's crow-friends were perched on her shoulders, painstakingly watching Usagi's every move. Their glares weighed so heavy on Usagi's conscience that she was forced to bow her head. It seemed they knew something she didn't. "Gomennasai. I need to speak with you," she whispered and raised her head hopefully.   
The broom stopped suddenly, and Rei looked up in confusion. It seemed she was sizing up Usagi. Finally, she nodded to herself and said bluntly, "Come with me. I have a couple of seconds."   
Usagi followed Rei to the tiny room with the fire where Rei got all of her visions. She paused and glanced back at Usagi, as if she was waiting for Usagi to call her a freak and run away.   
Just like her Rei-chan.   
"Go on," Usagi urged and sat lotus-style on the floor. Rei nodded and began to chant while the fire grew stronger and higher. The flames were so bright that Usagi had to shield her eyes, and she began to worry that Rei's hair would catch on fire. "Um...I know you need to concentrate, but...uh...your hair…." The words died on her tongue; Rei wasn't paying attention to her so she just returned her gaze to the floor beneath her.   
Finally, the chanting ceased, and Rei's eyes opened once more. Without turning to face Usagi, she whispered fearfully, "I know why you're here!"   
"And?"   
Rei's body jerked around, her eyes pools of pure terror and understanding. "You know me! I don't understand why….oh, nevermind, I said that; I 'do' understand why," she mumbled hatefully, "but this is silly! I can see your dreams clearly." She averted her eyes elsewhere, preferring not to look at Usagi just then. "I know that you believe I am your friend, and I feel drawn to you," she admitted shyly, blush creeping up her neck. Then she threw her head up defiantly and shouted, "Get out of here! Your dreams are wrong!"   
"Nani?" Usagi whispered weakly, but she knew why Rei was turning on her. "Rei-chan-"   
"Don't talk to me!" Rei yelled and pushed Usagi out of the temple, toward the stairs. "Go away! Your dreams are evil! You are evil! This is all wrong!"   
A single tear dropped from Usagi's crumbling face and onto Rei's arm. Rei exhaled painfully, trying to keep her own tears in check. "Oh, Rei-chan," Usagi cried and held onto Rei's arms, unwilling to let go. "Not you too!" She sniffed and whispered softly, painfully, "I need you, Rei. I want my friends back!" she howled, tears streaming down her face finally.   
"Just go away," Rei stammered and ran into the temple, slamming the paper door shut behind her.   
Usagi cried out in frustration. How the hell could she survive without her friends?   
Again, the sun was shining brightly, hatefully, and the birds' songs and the crickets' chirps combined to form one continuous piercing shrill, as if punishing her for being so sad. Depressed on a day when she should be joyous.   
Screaming, crying, she ran down the stairs, not tripping once, and in a fit of rage, she realized that she had not "klutzed-out" once. That was the last straw. She could take no more, and as she dropped to the sidewalk, she let the universe hear her anguished cry of defeat. Maybe she was crazy. Maybe she "had" dreamed two years worth of dreams because she was nothing more than a pathetic small whip of a girl with no friends. This fate wasn't cruel; she had just been born in the wrong place, and that dream-Usagi was the person she aspired to be. Klutzy maybe, a crybaby perhaps, but full of hope, full of passion, full of wonder in a magical world.   
She wailed one last time for the Usagi she could have been-wanted to be, and then rose from the ground, sighing. What use were dreams when that Usagi had never been born in the first place?   
A small white cat watched her from the bushes, glancing up when it heard a great rustling of leaves behind it. It nodded to two girls, and they frowned their reply. The brunette stayed with the cat as the blonde crept up to Usagi. "You look like you could use a friend."   
Usagi recognized that voice! Minako! She smiled and turned to greet her friend, but thought better of it. Even if she believed that silly dream, this Minako probably didn't know her and was just being nice. "Hai," she replied dejectedly. "I believe I could."   
Minako extended her hand, and Usagi readily took it. As she stood, she heard footsteps and was surprised when she found out it was Makoto. "I'm Minako, and that's my friend Makoto." Makoto nodded, and a white ball of fluff moved in her arms, making Usagi jump. Artemis! "And that's my cat, Artemis, but he's a grouch today, so don't mind him."   
Makoto smiled and offered Usagi her hand. "I've seen you around school."   
"Hai," Usagi answered. "I've seen you, too."   
Minako laughed. "Well, great then! We can always use one more friend."   
"We were going to the Crown to fawn over that cute blonde that works behind the counter," Makoto said dreamily.   
"I bet he reminds you of one of your old boyfriends!" Usagi giggled, forgetting herself.   
"How did you know that?" Makoto asked, surprised.   
Minako grinned and elbowed Makoto. "Onegai, Mako-chan, anyone can tell by looking at your face!"   
Oh, praise that wonderful, wonderful Minako! She'd saved Usagi's ass again without realizing it. Usagi nodded shyly. "Hai. I know that guy. His name is Motoki, and he's a friend of mine. I bet I can get you some free ice cream." Usagi smiled sweetly.   
"All right!" Makoto and Minako yelled at the same time, causing Usagi to giggle. Same old Minako and Makoto.   
As they walked to the Crown, Makoto asked, "What's your name? I forgot to ask." Minako shook her head, and Makoto blushed. "Gomen, I'm such a baka."   
Usagi grinned, even though inside she was hurting. They really didn't know her. "Tsukino Usagi, and that's all right. I'm such a baka for forgetting to tell you."   
All three were laughing and carrying on as they entered the Crown. Usagi had begun to actually feel half-way normal for once. That is until her breath caught in her throat as she realized who was directly in front of her, blocking her way. "Mamo-chan!" she yelped.   
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That's it until tomorrow, minna! I've revised my story a bit because parts were bugging me. I really hope someone out there is enjoying this. I'm so terribly sorry to leave cliffhangers *evil grin* but I can't help it! I like hanging at the edge myself! And no fear, I will post the rest no matter how many reviews I get! ^^ Ja ne!


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